Thai roaming versus a travel eSIM, from the operators' own published rates
The actual published rates for AIS Ready2Fly and True GO Travel, read off the operators' own pages, and what each side does and does not give you.
En bref
- A Thai operator's roaming pack keeps your Thai number live for calls and one-time passwords. A travel eSIM is a separate data line bought for one destination and one amount of data.
- Both operators show their pack prices excluding 7% VAT, so the amount actually billed is about seven per cent above the number on the card.
- With no pack at all, True publishes 350 baht a day in its Asia zone and 499 baht a day for Europe, Oceania and the Americas, and 450 baht per megabyte for countries outside those lists. That last line is where the shock bills come from.
| Pack | Données | Validité | Price (excl VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pack | Données | Validité | Price (excl VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
- 1
- 2
- 3
Questions fréquentes
Can I use both at once?+
Yes, and frequent travellers often do exactly this: leave the Thai line on for calls and SMS but turn its data roaming off, then set the eSIM line as your data line. The Thai line then only bills for voice at the voice roaming rate, with no data charges.
Why do some roaming bills come out huge even after buying a pack?+
The usual causes are using data before the pack has actually started, or visiting a country outside the pack's zone, where the standard rate applies instead — such as the 450 baht per megabyte True publishes for countries outside its lists. The guard is to confirm the pack is running before enabling data, and to check every country on the trip is inside the same zone.
What can you actually do at 128 Kbps?+
Enough for text messages in LINE or WhatsApp and, very slowly, a map. Not enough for a video call, a photo upload, or an image-heavy web page. If several days remain after the data runs out, buying more usually beats enduring that speed.
Which makes more sense for a short two or three day trip?+
A short trip close to home is where roaming packs are most competitive: a three-day pack is not expensive and needs nothing installed. An eSIM pulls ahead when you need less data than the zone pack obliges you to buy, or when you are visiting a single country that has a country-specific plan. Work out the per-gigabyte price on both sides first.
Sources
- AIS Ready2Fly roaming packages — AIS, 13 septembre 2026
- AIS Ready2Fly Premium — AIS, 13 septembre 2026
- AIS international roaming rate details — AIS, 13 septembre 2026
- True international roaming and GO Travel packages — True Corporation, 13 septembre 2026
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